Hey everyone! I'm a little intimidated because I have never written an AOT fanfic before and I want to do the show/manga justice. Ever since reading the final chapter, I've been scouring the internet for some good Jean fanfics, because I believe the boy deserves some love after all that pining after Mikasa.

That being said, this fanfic is going to be slightly AU. The characters are going to be older, I'm thinking 18/19 before the time skip and then after, obviously around 22ish but that won't be until way later. The story is going to be centered around Jean's love interest and more so his experiences with her during the events of the show. It will mostly stay the same, but there may be some very minor changes that are necessary for the story. Also I wanted to add in, she isn't going to take away from Historia becoming Queen. I don't have her changing the story much, just in case anyone was worried about that! Just wanted to write a nice angsty, love-lorn Jean fanfic!

Thank you all for giving this story a shot, I really hope you guys enjoy it. If there are any changes that you think need to be made, just let me know! I'm always open to constructive criticism.

Enjoy!

Masquerade

Chapter 1: Alexandra

Disclaimer: I do not have any ownership ofAOT!

The wind was still and quiet, and the air was moist from a freshly rained morning. Water droplets still fell from the leaves to the ground. The 104th Cadet Corps were in the forest training area.

Her glossy, stark black hair waved behind her as she flew through the trees surrounding her. Another day of training to perfect the ODM gear. They had gone over this for years now, but even so - it could be hard to grasp. Some scouts below her slashed into the necks of fake Titans, with the consistency of Titan skin.

"Hey Stahle, slow down! We don't need another tree incident!" Reiner called out to her as he flew a bit behind her. He let up on his gas, and watched as she still continued to fly at high speeds. "Hazel!" He called out and she whipped her head back to look at him with her honey-brown colored eyes, and then back at the trees, easily maneuvering her way through, though her speeds definitely were too high to be safe. Even for them.

"Heads up..." Marco gestured with his head to Jean to above them. They were standing on the ground, adjusting their gas canisters and Jean sighed, looking up to see Hazel speed by them.

"She's gonna get herself killed."

"You'd think, right?" Marco chuckled and flew up after her. "I've got it this time Reiner!" He called out. Jean flew up after Marco and they caught up to Hazel.

"Hazel!" Jean called out sharply, he and Marco looked at each other and nodded, Jean pushed out more gas, speeding himself up and Marco flew around to the other side. They wrapped their arms around her waist and pulled her to a stop.

"Awww come on, I almost got it!" Hazel pouted as she slowed down and swung back away from the guys, as she came to a stop, hanging in the air.

"God, I can't wait to be in the Military Police Corps and not have to worry about shit like this anymore." Jean glared at her and sighed. "You're seriously a thorn in my side, Stahle."

"Same goes to you, Kirstein." Hazel sent an anchor into the tree next to her and lowered herself to the ground. Not soon after she landed, Eren was flying through the air above her, with Mikasa not too far behind him. Hazel looked over to Jean who was following Mikasa with his own eyes without missing a beat. She shook her head and laughed, and heard,

"Eren!" not too long after, and a crash into some tree branches.

At least she wasn't the only one having troubles with the ODM gear...

"God.. I'm so sore..." Hazel slid into a tub of hot water. Training went extra long that day, seeing as Eren and Jean got into a spat yet again. Shadis wasn't having it, so he made them all spar for an extra few hours to get the extra energy out. She leaned her head back on the edge of the tub and stared at the adorned ceiling above her. There were fresh bruises covering her torso, stomach, and thighs from the ODM gear. Her skin was tender and the hot water felt amazing.

Hazel's honey-brown eyes closed, and she felt herself shake with a sigh. Loud crashing, huge booms, and flying rocks filled her mind.

"Mom!" She heard herself cry out as she reached for her mom and was pulled away from the walls.

Her eyes reopened, long lashes blinking slowly and she wiped the tears from under her eyes.

"Princess?" The door opened, and one of her handmaidens entered. Hazel covered her chest and her bruises and sat up in the water. Suds from the bubbles in the bath gave her fairly good coverage, but you could never be too sure.

"Hmm.. yes?" She looked over at her handmaiden, Alyse. She had beautiful blonde hair that glimmered in the sunlight, and bright blue eyes that were crystal blue. She was fairly tall, standing a whole head taller than Hazel herself. Hazel was about 5'3", what she would call about average height.

"Your father sends his apologies, but he has a meeting to attend and cannot join you for dinner tonight." The girl at the door gave her a sad smile and bowed her head. "Enjoy your bath, madam."

"Actually, Alyse... can you box up the food we were meant to eat? As well as some extra vegetables and meats."

"...you cannot keep doing this Alex-... I mean, Hazel. Your father is going to find out." Alyse tilted her head, looking at her highness. She was a bit older than Hazel but fully supported her decision to train and possibly eventually fight with the Cadet Corps. Alyse walked into the bathing room and shuffled around some bottles on the counter behind Hazel.

The marble flooring was cold beneath her feet, she could feel it through her thin shoes. "I found this while out in the marketplace the other day." She walked over to the tub and handed her the bottle.

"The saleswoman said that it's a very rare fragrance, vanilla, and roses."

"I'm not so sure that vanilla and roses go well with Titan's blood but... thank you, Alyse." Hazel's golden eyes flicked up to Alyse and smiled. Alyse smiled back and stepped back from the tub and started crying walking back to the door. "I... was thinking of joining the Survey Corps. I probably won't get selected high enough to be in the Military Police regiment.. not that I want to be a part of that corrupt regiment anyways." Hazel scoffed. Alyse stopped at the door and held her hand on the door frame.

"...why not just be proud of yourself for the accomplishments you've made and how far you have come? Your mother would be so proud of you. Commander Erwin said you could be relieved of your duties at any time, and before you know it you may have to face Titans. You are the future Queen that we Eldians need, and desire. I..." Alyse shook her head. "I will always support you, your majesty. But you have to think with your head here, not your heart."

Alyse closed the door behind her, and Hazel sighed, looking at the door. She rested her chin on the edge of the tub, and eventually sat back up, rubbing the shampoo into her hair, getting out all the dirt and grime that had been caked in from the day's training.

She wondered how much longer she could indeed keep this secret from her friends in the 104th. Princess? You may be wondering... In fact, her name wasn't even Hazel Stahle. Her true identity, which had been kept a secret from all enlisted, with the exception of Commander Erwin, Captain Levi who she knew briefly, and Squad Leader Hange Zoe, was Alexandra Fritz. Commander Dot Pixis also knew as he was a good friend of her now-deceased mother, the Queen.

Commander Erwin and Pixis agreed that as long as she did not weigh the squad down, or put anyone else's life in danger, they would cover her tracks for her.

The Queen had spent a lot of her time in the military, as most of the royal decisions were left up to her husband. Within this, she also became very close with the young, at the time, Erwin Smith. Dot Pixis was her right-hand man, therefore he was honored to have Hazel possibly join the Garrison one day. Her secret identity was the perfect way to ensure her safety from her Father as well as other soldiers. Entrusting her husband was a huge mistake, the Queen probably felt now, if she were watching over her daughter. Even the King did not know what his daughter was doing. As far as he knew, Hazel spent most of her day getting lessons in town, at one of the best schools for the upper class and royalty.

But to Hazel's benefit, the King truly did not worry too much about Hazel's whereabouts or what she was doing, because Hazel felt more like a waste of space in his presence... he simply just... didn't care.

Hazel rubbed the shampoo into her hair, getting every inch of her raven-colored hair covered, and then hurried over to the shower where the water spilled out over her. It wasn't as warm as her bath but, oh well. She looked at herself in the reflection of the glass that surrounded her as she rinsed herself off. Bruises covered her torso.

She had fought against Mina Carolina today. An easy win, and then Sasha, to which they got yelled at for messing around. After that, she went against Annie, and couldn't even land a hit on her. Annie absolutely kicked her ass, to which Hazel had anticipated once learning that she was paired with her. She had watched Eren spar against her before, and Eren had actually surprised them the other day when he landed a hit on her.

'Think about your duties...' Alyse would often say to her... but to put it simply, Hazel didn't care about her duties. As messed up as it sounded, she enjoyed all the fighting, the training, normal citizens who were like-minded to her. And her comrades didn't know who she was, or what her duties were, so they treated her like a normal person.

She went down the list in her head. Eren and Mikasa, they were always kind to her, but they never really paid her much mind. Eren had an older sister named Erica, but she hadn't met her yet. Erica was apparently part of the Garrison Regiment but was a damn good soldier. She apparently used to run the underground with Captain Levi, but that was something you didn't talk about, otherwise, he'd beat your ass. Erwin had gotten too drunk one night and told Hazel, that's the only way she knew about it.

Armin was kind to her, just as he was to everyone he met. She enjoyed playing chess with him when they had downtime and liked to talk about what was possibly outside the walls. The "ocean" as he called it, was one of his greatest desires to see. The way he described it, Alyse's eyes sounded like the closest thing to the ocean as she could imagine.

Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner were her closest friends that she had in the Cadet Corps, but even they weren't super close to her. They liked to keep to themselves for the most part, but in recent times, they had been helping her with her training, especially since the evaluations would be coming up in the next few days. Annie kept mostly to herself, and Bertolt and Reiner liked to talk about their lives in their village. Hazel loved to listen, trying to imagine what that life could truly be like.

The time before everyone was forced to live in close quarters of the inner walls and even some forced underground.

Jean and Marco were the best of friends, like two peas in a pod. Jean was very hot headed, especially towards Eren. But his heart held a place for one individual, and that was Mikasa. Hazel was certain Jean would do almost anything for Mikasa, possibly even give his life. She had heard that he had family in the Trost district, his mother who wrote him letters, but he hardly ever returned them, if ever. And Connie and Sasha loved to tease him about it.

Marco helped Jean stay calm when he would get heated about things. Hazel also really loved talking to Marco. He and Jean were determined to join the Military Police regiment after the top ten were selected, but truly she couldn't see either of them enjoying it there. Sure, it came with the promise of comfort, and getting to work to protect the King and his family... but Hazel hated most of the Military Police. The whole regiment was filled with douchebags and well... just all-around horrible people.

Connie and Sasha, those two were even more of two peas in a pod than Jean and Marco. You wouldn't find one without the other, and sometimes Jean would even join in on their craziness. Connie was very headstrong about his abilities, and sometimes overestimated himself, which could get him killed in a real battle, and Sasha... honestly just cared about food. The girl could eat, and eat, and eat. But she was also a genuinely good person and friend. She wasn't too bad of a soldier either. She had come a long way since they had all first started together.

Finally, after Hazel felt clean, she towel-dried off and changed into her casual clothing. Generally, she wore a dress after getting back from training, but since her father would likely be away for the evening, she decided to head back to the barracks for a few hours.

The story amongst the Scouts was that she had sickly family members to take care of after training, so she would go home for the evening. Usually, she was the first one up and ready for training, so she never really ran into issues, and people stopped asking her questions years ago because she would just deflect to a different topic. Did it really matter if they knew who she was? ...probably not.

But word getting back to her father about what she was doing would end her activities immediately. After her mother was killed in Year 845, she knew that her father would never let her join the Cadet Corps, and eventually the Scouting regiment as she had wanted. She had to keep it a secret, at least for a little while longer until she knew who she could trust.

Hazel dried her hair until she was satisfied, it fell mid-length down her back and found a black corset top, that had long bell sleeves that fell down to her mid-forearm. She cinched the back of the corset and it made what little breasts she had breached a bit, but not too much that it was indecent. Her skin was tanned from all the training in the sun they had been doing, so her skin paired nicely against the deep black top she had chosen. For her plain clothes, she didn't have many options, as her closet was filled with ball gowns made of many different fine fabrics.

She detested wearing them, as every time she wore them, the next time she was out in public, she was reminded by the hunger that rampaged the kingdom. Hazel found a skirt that matched her black top and came to her mid calf, and tied it around her waist. She slipped on some shoes and walked out of her room.

At the hallway to her door, there were numerous bags of food sitting with a small piece of paper attached. She grabbed the letter, stuck it in one of her pockets and picked up as many bags of the food as she could manage. Honestly with how heavy the ODM gear was, the weight of the food wasn't too bad. Hazel quietly exited the castle out of a side door and crept out towards a tunnel that she had been using for years to sneak away. It wasn't long before she was into the Stohess district, and then blended into the crowd. She did stick out a bit with all of her bags of food, but... she hurried through the crowd hoping no one would notice her.

After getting to the training compound, she found her way to the barracks where everyone was still unwinding from the day. Chow had already been finished by the majority of everyone. Stale bread, a piece of steak or chicken if they were lucky, sometimes beans, and maybe a rotten carrot or uncooked potato.

"This maneuvering plan doesn't make any sense Mikasa, what do you mean?" Eren was looking at battle plans that they had been given in the past and was going over it with Mikasa. Mikasa was leaning over his shoulder and looked at the paper he was holding.

"It makes perfect sense.. what do you mean? Eren, this is why you should just stay by my side." Mikasa sighed and Eren looked up from the paper annoyed and saw Jean staring at them.

"Can I fucking help you, horseface?" Eren scowled and Jean growled.

"Nope, just wondering how the hell you made it this far with that tiny pea brain of yours..." Jean crossed his arms and continued sketching.

The doors to the barracks opened and in walked Hazel, giant bags of food in hand...and on her shoulder, and around her hips.

"HOLY MOTHER OF POTATOES!" Sasha jumped up and dropped the potato she was munching on. "Where did you get all this?! This is more food than I've ever seen in one place." Sasha was practically salivating and ran over to unload the food off of Hazel.

"Ehh, don't worry about that. We had some extra, so I just wanted to bring some by."

"Hazel, have I ever told you I love you...? oh my God look at this meat! Connie! To the kitchen! We need to cook this pronto!" Sasha grabbed the first container she saw and dashed out of the barracks. Hazel smiled watching her and tossed an onion and some mushrooms to Connie as he chased after Sasha.

"Look at this! Wow, thank you, Hazel..." Armin stared at the food incredulously. "I think this'll help a lot with everyone's morale." Marco hopped off his bed and strolled over to Hazel and all her goodies, grabbing a couple of apples.

"Armin's right Hazel, this is amazing. I don't know how you did this, but thank you." He clapped her softly on the back and walked back over to where Jean was sitting. Hazel watched him and saw Jean staring her down. She awkwardly waved and cleared her throat before looking around the room.

Bertolt was laying on his bed, a book in hand. Hazel walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. "Heya." Bertolt peered at her from the edge of his book and nodded before looking back to his book.

"Hey."

"So umm... have you seen Reiner since we got back?" She cleared her throat and he looked at her again, raising his eyebrow.

"I think he went out to the roof to look at the stars... I didn't tell you that though." Bertolt gave her a pointed look and Hazel smiled, patting his shoulder.

"Thanks, Berty." She stood and smoothed out her skirt.

"I asked you to stop calling me that!" He sighed and continued reading.

"Hey Hazel, I want you to come check out this page with me!" Armin waved her over and she nodded. Shortly after, Sasha and Connie were back after their cooking venture.

Off on the other side of the room, Jean laid on his bed, next to Marco's bed who was also doing some studying/reading. Jean had his eye on the dark-haired beauty, and a pencil in his mouth.

"I don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Her..." He gestured to Hazel with the pencil, who walked with perfect poise through the room. "She drops in with copious amounts of food, more than most of us have seen at one time, and then just disappears again. If any of us were out this late past reveille... I don't even wanna think about what Shadis would do." Jean's eyes trailed to Sasha who was happily hoarding and chomping down on some meat that Hazel had saved just for her.

"This. Is. So. Amazing!" Sasha squealed, practically moaning in delight with every bite. "I can't believe she found and gave us all of this food!"

"Gah, just don't eat too much. I don't want you farting and gassy all night." Connie snickered and Sasha threw a small bag of raisins at him. "Ew! I don't want these!"

"Fine, then throw them back!" Sasha stuck her tongue out at him and Jean rolled his eyes at the two.

"It's just... she's not that great of a soldier. We all barely know her... I mean you saw her today, she was being so reckless, and for what?!"

"I'm pretty sure her gas canister insert was malfunctioning so she couldn't slow down." Marco said softly, turning his page. Marco looked at Jean and raised his eyebrows seeing him still glaring at her. Hazel waved at them as she was leaving and Marco waved back. "If you have such an issue with her, why don't you go sort it out? I'm sure she'd be glad to go through whatever your problem is with you." Marco took a bite of his apple and gave Jean a look before continuing to study.

"Hey Marco, I'm pretty sure Hazel brought those apples especially for horse face over there." Eren called out and Jean growled jumping up to his feet.

"How about you pipe down and mind your own damn business?"

Hazel could hear shouting from down the hall, but she had finished what she came here to do. Things were tense with everyone, and she had a lot of her own tension built up inside of her. She looked around after getting to the courtyard and saw him sitting on top of one of the roofs, staring at the stars.

He had a bottle in his large hand with caramel-colored liquid inside it and took a short swig. She looked around some more, and found a way up to him, with the help of some crates. Quietly, she climbed up, walked over, and sat down next to him.

He had to have been in some deep thought because he didn't even hear her.

"Mind sharing?" She reached for the bottle and Reiner practically jumped up, and he had to refrain from yelling, out of fear. PTSD maybe? "Ehh.. sorry." Hazel laughed "I thought you heard me." He held a hand to his chest and held the bottle out to her.

"Damnit, Hazel..." His deep voice rang in her ears, and she took a swig of the whiskey he was drinking. She had to cough from the intensity of it and pounded her chest, and caught him smirking at her. "That's the second time today you've given me a heart attack."

"You and me both..." She took another swig, as the wind lightly blew past them. She could feel her hair lifting off of her back and in his direction, and she could hear him take a deep breath in through his nose.

"That's nice... I've never smelled that before."

"It's um.." She thought back to what Alyse had told her, "rose and vanilla." His right brow rose.

"The hell is vanilla?" He asked her, looking at her.

"It's a spice for desserts... but I've never seen it used as a fragrance before. My... friend got me it, as a surprise." She took one last swig of the whiskey and handed the bottle back to him. There was something always on his mind, therefore he was the perfect person for her to get "therapy" with.

"Interesting..." She looked over at him, and his mind seemed to be a million miles away.

!Small Amount of Smut Warning!

Hazel moaned as quietly as she could one last time as Reiner pounded into her and she held on tightly to his shoulders, using one hand to cover her mouth. He had her lifted up and pushed against the wall of an unoccupied room, with her legs wrapped around his naked waist, and her eyes were closed, as she tried to control her breathing and heart rate. He gently set her down, finding somewhere to dispose of his condom. She grabbed a spare towel before wiping herself and throwing the towel in the same trash.

"Hazel, I don't know if we can keep doing this." His breathing was heavy, and he watched her as she fixed her skirt and turned to look at him, nodding.

"I know... it just makes things easier to handle.." She knew he was right. They virtually had no real feelings for each other, and it could only complicate things in the future. Besides, Reiner had his eye and heart on one person. Krista Lenz. Everyone knew it. When she was around, he was a different person. But everyone also knew how much Krista was into Ymir, and vice versa... except for Reiner that is.

"I know..." He whispered back to her. Hazel turned away from him as he got put his casual clothes back on, and she fixed her top so that it looked proper. She stopped as she heard footsteps outside that stopped at the door of the room they were in, and she looked at Reiner, panicking. They had never been caught sneaking around before, but she didn't even know what would happen if they were. He shook his head and put a finger up to his lips, telling her to be quiet. They waited a few more seconds, and heard a second pair of footsteps run to catch up to the first ones.

"Let's go! Hurry up!" A voice neither of them recognized whispered and both pairs of footsteps ran off. They both let out a sigh of relief and opened the door.

"See you tomorrow." Hazel reached out to him and gave his hand a small squeeze before sneaking off towards the main courtyard to travel back to the castle in the dark of the night.

Reiner watched her, his head spinning from the whiskey before he silently made his way back to the barracks where mostly everyone was asleep.

After returning to the castle, Hazel almost immediately passed out in her bed. Her father had either returned and didn't check up on her, or he was still out. Either way, she was thankful.

In the morning, she woke up bright and early before the sun even rose, as usual. She grabbed a fresh pair of her cadet gear and put it on, minding to put her hair into a ponytail this morning. They had one last day of training before the graduation ceremony that evening, and that meant she had one last day to prove herself to get into the top ten.

As usual, she snuck from the castle to the military courtyard before the sun rose into the sky. It just made her life easier. Generally, she would eat at the castle to spare food that was needed for everyone elsewhere. Her father had so much food just as a backup in case some crazy Titan attack were to happen again, but that wasn't very likely... at least she had hoped it wasn't.

She breathed in the fresh smell of the air. She could smell grass, and a dewy smell stuck in the air from the fresh morning dew. Hazel used to not be a morning person, but now she couldn't get enough of it. It was quiet in the mornings, hardly anyone was awake, and she felt at peace.

Finally, the sun was peeking over the horizon of the walls, and Hazel walked into the barracks. A few of the beds were unoccupied, meaning people were up and getting ready for the day. Marco was up and standing next to his bed, and smiled when he saw her come in. Jean grumbled in his sleep and rolled over.

"Hey.." Marco whispered and walked over to her. "Do you wanna come with me to the equipment room?"

"I'll come too." Armin spoke quietly as he sat up. His hair was a bit disheveled, and Hazel giggled seeing him rub his eyes.

"Sure." She nodded. "I could use some help with my gear. I really don't want another incident like yesterday."

"My thoughts exactly.." Marco looked at Armin and laughed. "You okay?"

"Yeah... Connie's snoring kept me up for a while. But I'm good." Armin swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up stretching. "Alright, let's get going!"

Ahhhh! Okay there's Chapter 1 everyone!

I know this chapter was kind of boring, but I kind of just wanted to introduce her relationships with everyone to kind of set the stage for the story. I know there are probably a lot of things that don't make sense right now, and hopefully they will all be cleared up with time. Don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts and a follow so you can get notif's for the updates! I can't wait for you all to see what's to come!

I hope you all enjoyed,

XO

beautifuldisaster993